The Messenger
by nozomi.no.uta
Summary: It wasn't so much the announcement than the one who gave it that motivated Namine to attend the royal ball.


**Author's Comments: **Hi. I know I still need to update _The Captive Heart Show_, but in the meantime, this little idea came up. It's inspired from a dream I had about being in a courtyard with an orchestra and preparing for a ball or banquet of sorts. It was random, yes, but it sparked this tiny, tiny plot. Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts. _I own Imani.

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><p>I could tell he was a royal attendant from the indigo blazer uniform with the red sash crossing his torso and the light gray pants he was wearing. There was a crisp, authoritative edge to his voice despite the youthful timber it held. I didn't know what he was saying and I found I didn't quite care at the moment. He was incredibly handsome. His golden spiky hair almost glowed in the midday sun and the features on his face, though somewhat stern, had an underlying gentleness that I found mesmerizing.<p>

I only caught a glance of his eyes when he looked up momentarily from the scroll he was reading…and they were the most beautiful shade of blue I'd ever seen. Was it possible to replicate that shade? I didn't think so.

Suddenly, everyone around me cheered loudly, dashing off in different directions across the town square. I didn't know what they were cheering about, but they didn't seem to notice the chariot he was standing on go off towards the palace. My eyes never left him as the chariot became smaller and smaller.

The farther it drove away, the lower my heart sank. He was only here for a quick moment…and now I might never see him again.

"Can you believe it, Nam? There's going to be a royal ball!"

I tore my eyes from the road to blink at my cousin. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Kairi's brows inched closer together beneath her reddish bangs. "Didn't you hear? You were standing right next to me when the messenger announced it just now."

A nervous giggle escaped my throat as I felt my face heat up. "Oh yeah…" So _that_ was what the messenger was saying. But why was the royal family holding a ball? And why was the ball being announced to commoners?

There were stars dancing in Kairi's blue eyes as she continued, "Can you believe Prince Sora is of age to be married? And that he's inviting all the young women in the kingdom to attend the ball? And that one of the girls he meets at the ball could become his wife?"

Oh. That explained everything.

"Nam, we _have_ to go!"

I nearly dropped the bouquet I was supposed to deliver. Go to the ball? "But…"

For the second time Kairi's face fell. "But what?"

I nibbled on my lower lip as I carefully shifted the bouquet in my arms. I wasn't interested in marrying the prince. Of course, everyone in the kingdom loved Prince Sora for many different reasons—his boyish good looks, that smile that lit up the entire room, his sincere empathy for the people—and I was no different…except I didn't want to marry him.

"Nam…what's wrong?"

"She's fine. She's just thinking about the _messenger_."

The bouquet slipped from my arms and I let out a cry, but thankfully a girl with short dark hair and a knowing smile caught it before it hit the ground. "Imani!" I exclaimed, surprised to see the girl.

"Imani, you knew, didn't you?" Kairi pointed a finger at her and narrowed her eyes playfully. "Since there's a ball this Friday, the preparations had to have started yesterday, meaning the king and queen sent out orders for food and flowers and such, meaning _you_ would've gotten an order for liquors and spirits through Seventh Heaven. Why didn't you tell us there would be a ball?"

Imani shrugged, not at all fazed by Kairi's logic. "Because it was going to be announced anyway. Plus, if I told you beforehand, you wouldn't have come to the square and seen the cute messenger who was delivering the announcement." She smirked at me. "Right, Namine?"

My blush returned to my cheeks. How did she know? She wasn't standing next to us when he was making the announcement!

I felt like shrinking into a corner somewhere and disappearing when Kairi turned her wide blue eyes to me. "You like the messenger?" she asked with a smile.

"N-No, I just—"

"You think he's cute?"

"U-Um—"

"Because he is. He's really cute. Right, Imani?"

"Agreed." She nodded, holding out the bouquet for me to take. "You should go to the ball with Kairi. Maybe you'll see him there."

I slowly took the flowers, repeating the suggestion in my head. That was a good point…I'd never seen the boy before today—probably because he was always at the royal palace—and this could be the only chance I have to meet him…or even to _see_ him again.

"Aren't you going to the ball, Imani?"

"Why would I? I don't want to marry the prince and I'm not going to go hunting for the cute messenger."

"But it'll be fun to dress up and go inside the palace!" Kairi insisted, her smile widening as she threw her arms out and began twirling in the street. "It's not every day the royal family holds a ball like this. There will be music and dancing and food and drink and it'll be a night to remember!"

Imani's eyes softened at Kairi's verbal daydream as she watched her sway and dance to a silent melody. "Well…when you put it that way…I guess this is a once in a lifetime opportunity…"

Kairi ended her dance beside Imani and nodded. "Uh-huh."

She glanced at me and gave me a wink. "I think you could use another pair of eyes to help you find that messenger, too."

"Then it's settled!" Kairi declared, throwing her hands in the air triumphantly. "We're going to the ball!"

"We're going to the ball," Imani repeated.

I sighed and allowed a smile onto my face. "We're going to the ball."

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><p>The three days leading up to the night of the ball were filled with hours of measuring dress material and matching jewelry and trying on makeup. Every day after working at the florist arranging flowers for the palace, I'd spend the night at Kairi's house sewing and laughing with my two best friends. All the while, excitement built up in my chest and made my stomach churn uncomfortably.<p>

"What if he's not there?" I asked a thousand times.

"Then at least you tried finding him," they'd answer, "and at least you were part of something special."

"We're here!" Kairi squealed, beaming at us as the footman opened the carriage door and held out a hand to help her out. Imani followed her with a much more subdued smile on her face, but that spark of anticipation lit her coffee brown eyes.

When I stepped out of the carriage, my breath caught in my throat. The palace seemed to glitter in the torchlight and the highest tower loomed hundreds of feet above me. Royal attendants lined the staircase leading to the entrance, bowing and greeting us politely.

I couldn't help giggling as the three of us made our way up the stairs. I had to remind myself that this was happening, that we were attending a royal ball for the prince. The clacks of our heels on the marble steps rang in my ears with each step sounding louder than the last.

What was louder than the steps, though, was my heart. It pounded in my chest as a million questions swirled in my head. Would he be inside? How soon would I find him? What would he be doing? Would he be busy? What if he's too busy to talk to anyone? What if I can't—

"Nam?" Imani's voice broke into my questioning. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," I quickly replied. "I'm fine." Before she could ask me again, I turned to gape at the grand ballroom. Garlands of lilies and ginger and gardenia were wrapped around the staircase's banisters and the pillars. I remembered weaving those garlands and arranging the bouquets decorating the tables of food. Even now I could smell hints of the flowers on my skin. Women and men dressed in their finest danced and conversed all around the room as the king and queen watched from their thrones at the far end of the hall.

"There's the line to dance with the prince," Imani told my cousin as she grabbed my hand and began tugging me in a different direction. "See you later, Kairi."

"What? You're not even gonna dance with him?" Her lined eyes widened and her pink glossy lips frowned confusedly. "You might never get this chance again, you know."

I watched Imani smile calmly at her after glancing at the dancing couples on the floor. "I wouldn't be too sure about that" was all she said before winking and resuming our departure.

I furrowed my brow. Why would she say something like that? She sounded so confident about it, too. "You think—"

"I _know_." She stopped near a pillar and nodded to the spiky brunet head that belonged to the prince as he spun with a girl. "Look at him. He's being warm and friendly to the girls he dances with, sure, but he seems a little distracted…and he can't keep his eyes off of her for more than ten seconds."

I peered closely…and saw that she was right. There was a shadow on his face that made him seem a bit preoccupied. His eyes kept traveling to the line of girls along the staircase…particularly to the topmost stair where Kairi stood wringing her hands and breathing in deeply.

"Come on," Imani beckoned. "Let's start hunting for that messenger."

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><p>Almost an hour later, Imani sighed and leaned against one of the pillars. "He has to be here somewhere…" she murmured to herself.<p>

My lips twisted into a half frown. We searched everywhere the guests were allowed to go: the ballroom, the gardens, the halls surrounding the ballroom…but he was nowhere to be found. "Maybe he has the night off…" I suggested with a heavy heart.

She only hummed in response, her eyes still scanning the room.

"It's okay, Imani," I told her. "He's not here. Let's just…enjoy the rest of the night. That's the real reason we should be here, anyway."

Her mouth opened…but shut shortly after as her eyes widened and halted on something she saw. Before I could ask her what she was looking at, though, she tore her gaze away and smiled at me. "Wait here," she said as she began heading into the crowd. "I'll go get us something to drink."

I could only call an "okay" to her before she completely disappeared from my sight. I hoped she'd come back soon so we could find a place to sit; my feet were beginning to hurt.

With a sigh, I leaned against the pillar and watched the couples dancing. The prince's spiky head bowed as the next girl in line—two girls before Kairi—curtsied before they began to dance. A smile tugged at my lips as I noticed his eyes glance at Kairi every few seconds. He seemed to be getting excited.

"You smell really nice."

The random comment made me turn away from the floor towards the voice. When I saw who the voice belonged to, my heart stopped. Standing next to me with a small smile was the very person Imani and I had spent an hour trying to find: the messenger.

I could hardly speak. My heart fluttered in my chest as I tried to form the words to respond to him. "Th…Thank you…"

He gave me a smile and my knees began buckling. Instantly I fell in love with that smile. All too soon, though, widened eyes and anxious sideways glances replaced his smile. "Sorry!" he exclaimed. "That must've sounded really weird coming from a complete stranger…"

"Oh, no, it's okay," I quickly said. I wanted to see his smile again. "Um…You're the one who announced the ball earlier this week, right?"

He flicked his eyes back to me hesitantly. "Um, yeah. You remember me?"

I nodded. "I was with my cousin in the square when you made the announcement."

"Really…?" A corner of his mouth arched up in a half-smile. "If only I'd looked up from the scroll more often…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing," he said with a fervent shake of his head. "I just…I probably would've seen you if I hadn't been so stressed out making the announcement."

"You were stressed?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

He shrugged and chuckled. "I don't normally make the royal announcements, but the guy who was supposed to announce the ball that day had the flu so they made me do it."

"Wow…" He seemed so calm and confident at the time. I wouldn't have imagined he was capable of being insecure…but that made him seem more endearing now. "Well, I don't think anyone noticed that you were stressed. You read the announcement clearly and when we heard it, we all went into a frenzy to prepare."

He gave a long tired sigh. "I hope I never have to make announcements again. Having everyone's eyes on me and being the center of attention…" He shivered slightly, darting his eyes to the dancing figures. "I don't know how the royal family does it, especially the prince."

I followed his gaze and found myself watching the prince and Kairi gliding across the floor. They moved so gracefully and comfortably as if they'd forgotten everyone else in the room. Her smile and the prince's brought about my own and incredible warmth spread throughout my chest. "Wow," I breathed.

"Is that her?" I heard him ask. "Your cousin?"

"Yeah. Kairi. I've never seen her so happy before."

"I've never seen the prince this happy, either."

"Are you close to the prince?"

"Yeah. He's like family to me. He treats everyone like family here. I mean, so do the king and queen, but…I don't know. I feel closer to Prince Sora. If I didn't like him so much, I would've refused to make the announcement for his ball."

"Do you think he'll find the one tonight?"

He nodded with a smile to the prince who was still dancing with my cousin. "I think he already did."

My heart melted for my cousin as she laughed at something the prince must have said. "Princess Kairi…I like that. I think she'd make a good princess."

"You're not jealous of her?" he asked, a bit of surprise lacing his voice.

I shook my head. "I'm happy for her. I didn't come to try to woo the prince."

"So why did you come?"

His question made my heart jump. Swallowing the real reason—my quest to find him—I instead replied with as calm a voice I could muster, "I-It's not every day the royal family holds a ball that's open to the commoners. I thought I'd take advantage of the special occasion."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look to me. "I'm glad you did."

When I looked at him, he was smiling—not a half-smile, but a full, genuine grin. It lit his bluer-than-blue eyes so that they almost sparkled. "Me too," I agreed, my smile widening.

I was on the verge of getting lost in those eyes when he suddenly laughed. "Wow, I'm sorry. We've been talking for the past half hour and I still haven't introduced myself." He bowed. "I'm Roxas."

Roxas…I liked the name. I curtsied for him as best I could in my dress and heels. "Namine."

"Axel."

I caught Roxas' smile fall as I turned to the new voice. A tall, skinny man with red spiky hair and bright green eyes—and _tattoos_ beneath each eye, I was shocked to see—stood with a crooked grin. He wore the same uniform Roxas had on. I assumed he was a royal attendant as well.

"Axel…" Roxas growled.

"What? Introductions, right?" Axel held up his hands in surrender and sighed long-sufferingly. "Fine, fine. I'll leave you two alone. I'm busy, anyway…" Just as he was about to leave, he paused and took a good look at me. "Oh wait. You came with the girl with short dark hair and the purple dress, right?"

Did he mean Imani? "Yeah. Why?"

"No reason," he said with a shrug, but the glint in his eye told me otherwise. He changed the subject smoothly before I could ask about it. "So I'm guessing she went off to give you and Roxie some alone time since she's not walking around with you anymore. Took you a while to find him, what with all these people here, huh?"

My eyes widened and my heart dropped. Oh no.

Axel winked, smirked, and sauntered off. "Catch ya later, Roxie."

"Don't call me Roxie," he called after him.

I averted my gaze to the spotless floor and stared at my shoes in terror. I was found out. That Axel guy revealed everything. My face was heating up quickly with embarrassment.

"Sorry about him," Roxas told me.

"O-Oh no it's fine," I stuttered.

The orchestra music filled the awkward silence between us following my answer. Guests chattered and laughed around me about such and such, completely oblivious to the fact that I was caught stalking the messenger I'd been dreaming about ever since the day he announced the ball earlier this week. I wanted so desperately for the floor to open up and swallow me whole so I could escape this mess.

"So…" Roxas finally began, "you were looking for me?"

There was no way to avoid admitting it without lying to him. I thought nodding quickly would subdue my blush, but…it didn't.

"Why?"

I couldn't part my lips to utter the words to tell him why. I dreaded the way my tongue would twist upon saying that I found him charming from the moment I saw him and wanted to see him again, even if it was from a distance. There was no way he wouldn't think I was strange.

"You know what? You don't have to tell me."

I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip. "Is it obvious?"

"A little."

My insides churned. I wasn't sure what was worse: telling him up front or his deducing without my saying a word. The embarrassment burned in my throat and my stomach.

"I'm glad you found me."

Those five words dispelled a great deal of the burning. Prying my eyes open, I snuck a glance up at him and was surprised to see a tinge of red dusting his cheekbones. His beautiful eyes watched me sheepishly and a mixture of relief and happiness swelled in my chest.

Roxas cleared his throat and shot a glance at the twirling couples. "I'd ask you to dance, but the floor looks a bit crowded." He offered a smile and his arm. "Want to go for a walk instead?"

I tucked my hand in the crook of his arm and smiled up at him. "I'd like that."

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><p><strong>Author's Afterthought: <strong>What'd you think? Thanks for reading! Please leave review and let me know what you think. Be on the lookout for that update to _The Captive Heart Show_, too!


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